I jumped, and she looked confused.
Fuck. Was this one-sided?
“Sorry. Yeah, let’s go.”
Once I dropped her off at Eric’s Range Rover, I was suddenly glad she was out of my car. I felt like I could breathe again. I had a twenty-minute drive to clear my head.
I pushed away everything that had been weighing down on me. Even Piper.
Tonight, I’d be Ollie. The one everyone was used to.
The one who didn’t give a shit if a girl was into him.
Because I was beginning to think that Piper didn’t feel for me what I felt for her.
And that stung.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Piper
There he was.
Oliver Powell—the guy who everyone was instantly drawn to. Ollie was the center of the universe, and everyone else were the dainty little stars, scattered all around him, lost without his guidance. A group of our classmates was standing beside him, totally engrossed in his story. A few girls blushed when he smiled, and the jealousy inside of me was slithering out like a snake, ready to constrict every last one of them.
I huffed and wrapped my arms around my torso. My back was resting along the banister, and I was ready to go upstairs just to escape the show in front of me.
I was confused and irritable. When Ollie and I were alone, everything felt right. My worries faded; my uncertainties disappeared. A lightness around us formed. I almost felt like I could float when I was with him. But when we were apart, in a group of people or at school, that was when things became unclear. They were muddy. It was kind of scary to think about. Ollie silenced the bad, and that was a heavy thought.
My heart came to a screeching halt as I watched Ollie dip his head down to Clementine, a girl I knew he had frequented many times in the past. She used to brag about it in the library during study hall, not quite loud enough to draw the attention of English Prep’s cranky librarian but loud enough so everyone around her could hear. It used to infuriate me, and seeing her whisper something in his ear did just the same. I quickly pushed off the stairs and shot her a dirty look.
Holy shit. Relax, Piper.
My breaths were coming in fast and hot, jealousy being the main component.
Run.
I turned on my heel, knowing very well I needed to take a breather, when I smacked right into someone. My hand shot up to my head as it thudded off a hard chest.
Eric’s brows were furrowed with confusion, and when he saw it was me, they furrowed even deeper. “Where are you going now?”
Eric was angry with me, and I couldn’t even blame him. I stole his car and left him at the winter formal with Hayley and Christian. But he was preoccupied with watching Madeline the entire time, so I didn’t feel that bad.
“Look,” I started, staring down at my Converse. “I’m sorry I took your Range Rover. Here.” I reached into the back of my jeans that I had changed into the second I got here and pulled out his keys, handing them to him.
Eric’s hands clamped down on them as I placed them into his palm. His voice was deep. “Why don’t you just tell him?”
I played dumb. “Tell who what?”
He tilted his head, his dark hair falling slightly over his forehead. “Why don’t you just tell Ollie you want him? For fuck’s sake, you left the winter formal and stole my car just to be at the races with him.”
I opened my month to argue, peeking up at him through my eyelashes. Eric was standing on the first step, so he was even taller than usual.
“Don’t blame it on needing to see your brother or needing to be there for any other reason. You and I both know you went to the races because you couldn’t stand the fact that he was there without you. You went solely to be with him. Didn’t you?”
I mean, yeah. He was right. I wasn’t going to admit it, though.
Eric stood up taller and looked out into the party over my head.